Happy Birthday Michael----Elder Mansell

Yes, you are right, today is Michael's 20th birthday. I can still remember the day he was born, there was a BYU game on and the Dr. and Bob were more interested in that than the fact that I was having a baby, so I prayed they would lose and lose they did. Don't mess with a lady having a baby! Michael was a great baby, hardly ever cried and was super obedient. He has grown up to be a very handsome young man. We are so proud of him serving a mission and grateful for the ten months he has already served. One more birthday and he will be home with us to celebrate the next one. I sent him a package and wrote Happy Birthday..September 29th in hopes the office would make sure he got it on time and he told me today he has it and can't wait to open it tomorrow. He is truly a good young man. We can't for one minute imagine our lives without him in it and though there is a hole in our family right now, know it will be filled in a few short months again. I wish I could sneak in and see his face as he opens his gifts, but I will have to imagine the faces and comments from here. I love you Michael and hope you have a wonderful birthday, you are never far from our thoughts and are always in our hearts. We love you and will miss you on your special day. Happy Birthday!! Love you, Mom

EAGLE SCOUT

That is right you read that right, after a long struggle with Nate being "too old" to get his eagle, he finally got it. He had his Board of Review tonight and passed with flying colors. I am so proud of him and know that one day he will be so glad he finished it. He had all done but the project and some paperwork when we moved here and he took baby items to the Alley House in Dallas which is a home for teenage pregnant girls. They were so grateful and said they had never received so much stuff in one donation. I was proud of him and so glad he saw it through to the end. He really is an amazing young man and one that his parents and his Heavenly Father can be so proud of. He will be a great missionary in a year from February and that will come all too soon. Michael is doing well on his mission and was made a Trainer and seems to be enjoying it a lot. He said he has a very obedient companion, which makes it really easy for him. Bob reminded him to have fun and he seems to be doing that as well. He is able to golf on p-days and has been doing that with investigators as well, so always the missionary. All my kids are great. Ashlee has been sick but is doing better finally. Our air conditioner went out in our upstairs, more missionary blessings. I just remind myself that means Michael is very much needed right where he is........and our "blessings" will come-----eventually :) Good job Nathan---we are so proud.

Labor Day 2010

It is so great to have a three day holiday. We were totally lazy today and just hung out together. That is my idea of a great day anytime though. I was at the Dr.'s on Saturday but got an antibiotic and some steroids and seem to be feeling a lot better. Not quite up to my usual self but that is okay, better than the way I was feeling. I have to give credit to Bob for making me go in, I feel like its such a waste of money and time, but he was right this time. My sister is so lucky as her kids will be starting school tomorrow in Washington D.C. We are on our third week here in Texas, but that is okay. Bob has been helping Nathan all day with his new sub and amp that he put into the Lincoln, you hear him coming before you ever see him, but that is apparently the thing to have here in Allen. Not much else going on, they made Michael a trainer and he got his new companion last week, so we will hear how this week went tomorrow sometime. He is already training an Elder who is Homebound, he goes home to sleep at night, he is a schitsophrenic (sp) so Michael is technically training two Elders. He will do well I am sure. I think he might have some of the luck I had as a missionary though, "we think you would do well with this sister etc." I know he will do well and it is I am sure preparing him for the future. Well I hope all of you all had a great holiday out there. Maybe next time I will have something more interesting to post.

Happy Anniversary THOMPSONS

Today is the 49th Anniversary of John and Mary Thompson. Why is that so significant to me? Well for starters I would not be here without them and so am very glad they met on a blind date many years ago and were married in the Los Angeles temple. They are currently in Indonesia serving a mission which is great. We are glad they will be home next year so we can celebrate their 50th with them, hopefully with all the family together. They are a great example to me and my kids of enduring to the end and doing it with a positive attitude. They fit together and one would certainly be lost without the other. I hope that Bob and I end up being the same way, in another 28 years from now. This a a milestone for any couple, but what a great example of keeping covenants and loving the person you marry forever. Just wanted to say, Happy Anniversary mom and dad, we all Love you! Have a great day.

First Day of School 2010

First day of school 2010. Nate is more than ready for his SENIOR year, Kaley is excited for 8th grade and finally the oldest in the school again for one more year. Steven is ready for 5th grade and already had P.E. so had a great day. Ashlee is in first grade and came home with a sticker, she was good today, so we are off to a good start. Seminary doesn't start until next week, so Nate can sleep in for a few more days. It was 107 degrees here today and over 21 days of over a hundred degrees so a very HOT August. Michael has been out for nine months, so a lot going on in our house.

School starts tomorrow!

I can't believe that school is already going to start tomorrow. It seems like the kids just got out and were talking of plans of what they wanted to do this summer. They ended up going to Six Flags on Friday and had a blast. I worked most of the summer so didn't get to do much, but we did have fun when I wasn't working. Kaley and Steven came to work with me a couple of times and it was fun to have them there. Nate was very good to bring me lunch when he wanted to get out of the house. All the kids have new shoes and at least one outfit for the first day of school. Nate and Kaley are excited to be the "older" ones in the school this year. Steven is excited his good friend will be in his class, with his new teacher whose name is Miss Duck :) Ashlee has a teacher who looks brand new so will have her work cut out for her with Ashlee, who is a chatty natty. We went to seminary orientation for Nate and I am so grateful to have been raised in UT. where we didn't have to get up and be in seminary at 6 a.m. It shows me even more how much more valiant the kids of today are than my generation. They come stronger and are more prepared to stand up to the hard things that are thrown at him that I never had to worry about. Nate got the same two teachers that Michael had and was thrilled. Just a shout out to my cute nephew that turned TWO yesterday and my sister-in-law Cindi who also had a birthday yesterday. Well a lot going on tomorrow with the first day and all......will write more later.

August already!!

We are already nearly half way through August and in Texas we have had eleven days at or over one hundred degrees! With the heat index we are a good five degrees hotter than that every day. Today was a balmy 104 outside. You go outside and instantly sweat. It has been interesting ever since Michael left on his mission, lots has gone wrong. I know he is a very valuable missionary for Satan to work so hard on our family while he is out serving. Just a recap of last week to give you an idea of how things have gone for the past eight months. Bob got a flat tire on his way home from work, of course we had to get a new tire. The guy said it looked like he ran over a razor blade, yippee. Then our computer totally crashed and we had to go and get a new hard drive. We took Ashlee to the Dr. and it looks like she has the same reflux that Nate had and will probably have to have surgery. Bob got a ticket a block from our house for an expired safety inspection (we were waiting for payday). I got the same ticket last month and it cost me $102, not counting what the inspection itself was. We love Allen police by the way. That is just a couple of the things from last week. I gave up keeping track as its too depressing to see all that goes wrong on a weekly basis, plus the Lord definately gives us "tender mercies" that help us to get through all the stuff we are going through. Anyway, lots of fun here for sure. I am ever grateful for Michael and his example through this whole thing. He has two baptisms this saturday, one a ninety year old and one a twenty year old. He has eight baptisms planned for this month already and is pretty excited. He really is an amazing young man. We have and continue to receive several letters from people where he has served thanking us for the person he is and the Spirit he brings into their homes. Michael has always had that and came with it to our family, but it sure helps when things go wrong, as they seem to all the time lately. If the church wasn't true this would all be a big joke, but since it is we endure and try to do it with faith and as patiently as we can. We are sure proud of all of our kids and especially Michael for the good example he is setting for the others. Nate went to EFY and had an amazing time and feels it should be a requirement for all youth to go to. I am glad it helped him, he has a whole new attitude/outlook since he has been home. Well less than two weeks before school starts. I will have a senior, 8th grader, 5th grader and first grader, should be a fun year!! What a ride......